*** CALL FOR PAPERS IS OUT! ***If you have a talk you'd like to do at Outerz0ne 4, feel free to email us at:skydog (at) outerz0ne.org

Outerz0ne is now trying to stand up on its own two feet. Last year was the first year that there was an Outerz0ne without an Interz0ne to be protesting, and it was a pretty good success. This year there's a much better hotel in a much better location. SkyDog has a lot of passion in what he's doing with this and it shows. It would be great for as many people as possible to submit papers, reserve rooms and show up for the convention. It will be nice to once again have an regular Atlanta convention in the early part of the year.

This is a mashup by DJ Earworm of the Top 25 Hits (according to Billboard Magazine) of 2007. Once again it shows that the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts, since much of the parts consisted of much suckage.

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)Carboy Cap or Stopper with AirlockFunnel

This is the recipe that I used for the Apfelwein that I brought to pn0x0b this past weekend. It's also the same recipe that Skydog used for his batch (that got added in to my keg after it ran dry). It's about the easiest possible way to make tasty alcohol, and is approximately 8.5% alcohol by volume, so it will knock you on your keister with no problem.

Star magazine, via Celebitchy, says that Tom Cruise is planning to build a ... wait for it ... wait for it ... a 10 million dollar underground bunker in Colorado to prepare for the arrival of Xenu, his alien god who is at the heart of scientology.

No, no, no, you've got it all wrong. Xenu isn't his alien god. Xenu is an evil Galactic Overlord. Scientology basically has no gods. Tom wants to make sure that Kate and Suri can survive a nuclear attack. But wait, isn't that what Xenu did last time? And yet the Thetans are still here among us...

That would not happen if students instead read the Bible, Mallory said.

She added that the books were harmful to children who are unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.

Right, sticking your head in the sand is reality. Teach your children to read between the lines and to understand the difference between facts and ideas. Harry Potter may be using magical spells to accomplish his goals, but the idea within the message is akin to many in the Bible - selfless acts for the greater good, with the constant nemesis of those who embrace greed, prejudice and bigotry. I'm sure that's why all of the school shootings proliferate - because the shooters all believe that they are doing selfless acts against the greedy, prejudicial bigots.

Decius wrote:You simply cannot send people to prison because you didn't get a joke. Yelling %22fire%22 in a crowded theater involves an intent as well as an act. If you yell %22I want that man fired%22 and a bunch of people mishear you and freak out should you go to jail? These were not intended to be viewed as a threat, and they have been up all over the country for weeks without anyone thinking twice about it. The police need to be able to %22take every precaution%22 without simultaneously demanding heads in exchange for it.

Intent is not always required, which is why we have terms like 'criminal negligence,' or in plain speak, 'you were too stupid to think about the possible consequences of your actions.' Many of the arguments I've heard have been, 'It was a cartoon character!' Well, kind of. It was a bunch of LEDs with the wires visibly exposed and again, it was an inside joke limited to a small subset of the population. Sadly, if the 'artist' had done a better job of tidying up his cables so that it was just a lit box, this probably wouldn't have happened. Next time replace the WALK/DO NOT WALK masks in crossing lights with these things and there won't be as much of a stink.

Again, I only find fault with the guy placing them underneath interstate bridges in an effort to hide them, which is what brought the well deserved suspicion to the devices.

Rattle wrote:Heh.. It was a marketing campaign. Adult Swim paralyzed Boston. I don't care what anyone says, this is funny as hell. I mean, everyone know that having LEDs in the shape of a cartoon character is the perfect way to disguise an IED...

Actually, no, it's not that funny. Like it or not we do live in a time when people blow shit up for the purpose of garnering attention. I've seen one ATHF episode (which was one more than I ever care to) and couldn't tell you any of the characters beyond the fact that there's a box of fries with a beard. It's an inside joke that maybe 5% of the US population would get, but it's not really a joke because of how they were placed. It's one thing to put them on a wall or an awning, like some were done, but the ones on the bridges... I have no sympathy for the guy that got arrested for this. I'm all about freedom of expression and freedom of speech, but you have to understand the possible impact, like yelling %22fire!%22 in a crowded theater.